The End of “Land for Peace”

The current conflict in Gaza should put an end, once and for all, to western pressure for “land for peace” negotiations in the Middle East. In 2005, the Israeli government withdrew all security forces, as well as forcibly removing 9,000 Jewish residents, to give Palestinians exclusive control of Gaza.

The world hoped that in ruling this enclave, Palestinians would make progress toward building their own viable, peaceful state. Instead, rocket attacks began immediately – with more than 8,000 strikes against Israeli civilians. Instead of encouraging cooperation, Israeli concessions encouraged more terror. The same sort of Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would similarly lead to more violence, not less.

Before the conclusion of the new round of Gaza fighting, the international community must guarantee that Hamas killers will never again be allowed to launch unprovoked, random, deadly attacks against their neighbors.